House passes bill establishing Space Force, parental leave for federal workers
Source: Washington Post
The House passed a $738 billion defense policy bill Wednesday, establishing the Space Force and introducing parental leave for federal workers, even as liberals signaled dissatisfaction with compromises Democratic lawmakers reached by voting against the legislation.
President Trump said he would sign the bill after striking a deal with House Democrats that permits the creation of his Space Force as a sixth branch of the military, one of his top priorities at the Pentagon, in exchange for extending 12 weeks of paid parental leave to more than 2 million federal workers, a victory for Democratic lawmakers. Federal workers at the moment don’t have guaranteed access to paid family leave.
The bill passed in the House on a 377-48 vote. Those who voted against it were primarily liberal Democrats who felt the compromise version of the legislation hammered out with the Republican-led Senate offered up too many concessions, including a top-line authorization that gives $22 billion more to defense than last year, plus another $5.3 billion for disaster recovery on military installations.
Known as the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, the annual bill sets out priorities for the Pentagon and funding targets for programs. Congressional appropriators ultimately will decide how much federal money the Pentagon receives for those priorities in budget legislation. The compromise bill, having passed in the House, will face a Senate vote slated for next week.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/trump-signals-intent-to-sign-738-billion-national-defense-policy-bill/2019/12/11/50e6d994-1c3e-11ea-9ddd-3e0321c180e7_story.html
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misunderstood what I'm saying.
I am not bashing Pelosi or the Democratic leadership. I don't 'pile on.'
I am not saying that healthcare should be funded through a defense spending bill.
I am neither criticizing, or ignorant of, the fact our bicameral legislature is structured for debate and compromise, and that many times if a bill is passed with which we disagree, it will have provisions placed in as amendments with which we do agree.
Here's what I am saying:
In FY17, our 'defense' budget was $649 billion, in FY18 $639 billion. In FY 19 it went back up to $686.1 billion, and now, this year, it is a whopping $738 billion. Why? We spend more on defense than the next eight countries behind us. I know we have many jobs dependent on this spending and so reductions necessarily would have to be gradual, but we have no business spending this much on defense. None.
A retooling of the economy to fund infrastructure improvements and a movement to green energy (a green new deal), and the addition of a retraining program in the context of our existing workforce development structure would allow people laid off as a result of defense cuts to get the new skills they need for a new economy.
Secondly, I am and have always said that I want the taxes I pay in to my government, that is supposed to be a government 'of, by and for' the people, and at the least should better represent my interests, to be used for programs that materially benefit me and my family.
Like healthcare.
Early childhood education and nutrition.
Childcare.
A leveling of the playing field in terms of funding K-12.
Debt-free college at state schools.
These things are MUCH more useful to me than a space force. I don't care of we had a space command that turned into strategic command. That is decades-old history. What I do care about is that we begin retooling our very government to get rid of dark money and special interests so that it CAN represent us.
And right now, this giant, bloated, stupidly wasteful defense budget is one of the things that keeps the government from being able to fund expansions in Medicare and Social Security, as well as other non-mandatory safety net programs such as workforce development.
Oh, and I AM a proponent of a) repealing the giant 2017 tax cut for billionaire parasites and corporations, b) repealing other Republican tax cuts on the books, c) bringing the graduated tax rates back up to where they were before Reagan slithered into the White House, and d) implement other taxes, such as a Wall Street transaction tax.
I vehemently disagree with people like Grover Norquist and other neoliberals who wish to starve the government through tax cuts, impose massive deregulation, privatize everything in sight and let the 'free' market take care of the rest. That has never, does not now, and will never work to do anything but route more and more money into fewer and fewer hands.
Taxes aren't always bad, and we need to take that dialog back from Republicans. Their programs don't work. They make things worse for everyday people.
Anyway, enough of that. I'll thank you not to put words in my mouth.
than healthcare.
Silly me...I'd rather have healthcare.
I didn't put those there. You posited the "either/or" false choice.
Response to Zorro (Original post)
